Way of the Cherry Blossom
by BlackWingedTraveler
Summary: Sakura's skills take a different path after she wakes up after Wave, and suddenly, the future is a lot brighter. A Story told in Snippets.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Way of the Cherry Blossom  
 **Prompt** : None, this time.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei?" Her hands folded in front of her carefully as Sakura stepped forward, a bit timid.

Her teacher looked up from where he was reading his usual book, perched on a stump, and smiled his crinkle-eyed smile at her. "Yes, Sakura-chan~?"

The genin ignored the annoyed grumble in the back of her head from the way he said her name, and pressed on. "Sensei, I was wondering… could you teach me that genjutsu you used on me in the Bell Test?" She could still remember that horrifying moment and it sometimes cropped up in her dreams, _especially_ after what happened a few days ago. His rattling, wheezing breath… The coppery tang of blood in the air…

Perhaps something showed on her face, for Sensei sobered and tucked away his book, serious. "Are you sure?"

It wasn't a hard decision to make and it was one she had made already. Yesterday, they had been taught water walking – she had managed it almost as easily as the three, but after holding it for too long and yelling encouragements at the boys, the chakra under her feet had collapsed. Sakura could swim, she had been fine, but… after the boys fussed over her, Sensei drew her aside to tell her that while she had very good chakra control, she had to be _very_ careful how much she used, as it would be very easy for her to succumb to chakra exhaustion.

There were two types of jutsus that precise chakra control was good for – genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. She had briefly considered the latter, but that would only leave her dealing with the aftereffects of battles, and she was pretty sure Sensei didn't know any of that. He did know at _least_ one genjutsu, though, and given her useless performance here in Wave this past week or so…

"Yes." Sakura was extremely certain, and she gave a short nod to go with it. "I don't want to be weak, Sensei, not after…"

 _Sasuke died._

Her sentence remained unfinished – she didn't _need_ to finish it. Seeing Sasuke-kun and thinking he was- Well, the genin wasn't able to handle that. Not- not easily. If he had _truly_ been… It would be all on her head. Kakashi-sensei had fought and Naruto-baka had almost killed the fake hunter-nin but Sakura-

She was startled out of her increasingly morose thoughts by Sensei reaching out to ruffle her long pink hair, giving her a crinkly-eyed smile once more. "Of course, Sakura-chan. It's a D-Rank, so you should be able to pick it up easily~." He beckoned her closer, and the genin stepped in, watching his hands intently as he carefully went through the two handseals required. "It's just Snake and Rat, but then there's the visualization process that goes with genjutsu…"

Sakura was very gratified to learn that Kakashi-sensei could be a good teacher when he wanted to be.

* * *

 **A/N:** _My first real venture into Naruto fanfiction... we'll see how it goes, yeah? This is a story that will be told in semi-chronological snippets, going through Part One of Naruto. I want to explore Sakura's development in a different way, with her abilities more mirroring her Part One skills. There will be hints of a pairing in later chapters, but not for awhile and it'll never be a focus. Let's go at this, shall we?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Way of the Cherry Blossom

 **Prompt:** None, yet.

* * *

It was embarrassing, but he was the only person that would answer honestly. At least, the only one _here_ who would answer honestly.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hating the way her voice wavered, Sakura's hands twisted together as he didn't even give her a glance, instead concentrating on the water he was meant to be walking on. He probably shouldn't be out here, should probably be healing and _not_ getting his bandages soaked, but good luck telling him that. Either way, she plowed onwards, forging ahead. "I, er- I wanted to ask… do I look alright? For a shinobi? Or should I change something…"

This seemed to catch both his _and_ Naruto's attention, and the baka spoke up and threw himself into the conversation. "You look beautiful, Sakura-chan! You don't need to change!"

A tick formed at Sakura's temple, and she snapped at him. "Idiot! Looking good isn't going to help me if what I look like's _impractical!_ " Not that… she had ever worried about it until now, but that was the principle of things, wasn't it? She had learned from this thing.

They all did.

Perhaps that was why Sasuke-kun was willing to indulge her even as Naruto flailed at her vehemence and fell back into the water. He surveyed her from head to toe, eyes _intense,_ and Sakura blushed despite herself. Who wouldn't? It was… well, him.

"…Your hair."

The pinkette blinked, caught off-guard – a bit too busy being distracted over Sasuke-kun _staring_ at her, managing to block out even Naruto's curses. "My… hair?" She lifted a hand to touch it, worried he was going to ask her to cut it for a moment.

"Long hair is a handhold. You only wear it long if you can back it up, power-wise." Left unsaid was the fact that Sakura _couldn't_ back it up – not even close, and she flushed further, quite self-conscious. If that were true, that would be the same for ponytails… what did that say about Ino-pig, she wondered?

At least that explained why Hinata-chan had shorter hair compared to the rest of the Hyuugas.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." Even if she wasn't sure what to do with that yet – cut it? Not unless she had to! – it was still good information, and his eyes lingered for a moment… before he gave her a nod and returned to his concentrating.

Sakura, personally, walked away, ignoring the way that Naruto-baka tackled the other boy behind her and the ensuing water fight. She had a woman to talk to about hair.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Second chapter's finally here, thanks for the alerts/faves/reviews, everyone! For the next ten-ish weeks, this is going to update every other Sunday. Next chapter will be some reflection - not every chapter is going to be Sakura finding something to improve - and there are going to be some prompts I use eventually. Perhaps not yet, though._


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Way of the Cherry Blossom

* * *

"Sakura-chan." Naruto's voice made the weary girl lift her eyes from the sleeping Sasuke, focusing on her other teammate. He was kneeling beside Sasuke as well – eyes hidden from her by his hair, focusing intensely on the Uchiha.

He had… died, today, almost died, and they couldn't bear to sleep. Kakashi-sensei had promised them he would be alright, but… For once, Naruto and Sakura found themselves united in perfect concert, and it was a peace that kept them both strong.

"What is it, Naruto-san?" She spoke up, having ditched the 'baka' on this night. It didn't feel right, especially when _Naruto_ of all people was serious. It worried her.

Naruto stopped, swallowed harshly, and turned his head up to meet her eyes – he was _crying,_ Sakura realized with horror. Naruto was _crying._ "When he- When he thought he was dying, the teme, he…" Another swallow, and he managed to spit it out. "He said something about killing his _brother._ What did he _mean,_ Sakura-chan? Do you know?"

He looked at her as though she held all the answers in the world, and Sakura was dismayed to realize that she _did_ in this case.

She had made such a careless remark when they found out their teams – she had wanted Sasuke-kun to _like_ her, to think about her and not Naruto-baka, and so she… said such a horrid thing. And Sasuke had reacted badly, too, but… worse than she thought. Asking her parents had yielded interesting results. They had always been so overprotective, so unwilling to let the harsher side of things taint her, that they had just completely covered up what truly happened with the Uchihas.

When she had been younger, when it actually happened, she didn't know enough nor pay enough attention to even realize what had happened, and her parents did their best to shield her from it. But she was a kunoichi, now – and they told her.

Apparently, no one told Naruto the exact details.

It was Sakura's turn to swallow harshly. "You… you know how Sasuke-kun's family is dead?" He nodded slowly. "Sasuke-kun… his _brother_ killed them all. The whole clan." Her voice was horrified, even though she already knew this information – mirrored by the horror creeping over Naruto's face.

"His… his _brother?"_ The tears were drying, replaced by sheer anger, and Sakura nodded. Naruto clenched his fists, gritting his teeth harshly. "No wonder the teme's-" He shook his head roughly. "How _could_ he?"

Sakura stared out at this boy – this boy that she had put down for so much of her life, but had always bounced back – and was ashamed to realize that she was crying. Hesitantly, carefully, she reached out to put her hand on one of Naruto's fists. "We need to help him, Naruto… kun. We need to help Sasuke-kun, don't we?"

He stopped, staring at her like she was the sun itself. Heat rose up in her face, the first time Naruto had made her blush in _years,_ but she met his eyes with determination.

Then, his face broke into a smile and _he_ was the sun, even as he teared up once more. His fist unclenched and took her hand in his. "Yeah. We do."

They stayed like that until the sun came up, holding hands by their sleeping teammate.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Naruto tiiiiiime. He's precious. I adore him. I adore all of Team 7._


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Way of the Cherry Blossom

* * *

"So, Sakura-chan, why did you decide to be a shinobi?" Tsunami asked, her hands deftly braiding the younger girl's hair. Tsunami was the only one around that Sakura felt would really know hair – while she still wanted to figure it out better, this would do for now. All of her hair braided in the back was still a handhold, sure, but it was shorter than her current hair, and she didn't plan on keeping it that way.

Just until she got back home and could talk to Mom.

As it was, the girl sitting on the chair blinked, surprised. "Why I became a shinobi? Well, my parents are both shinobi." Both Mom and Dad – it was simple enough. Most of the time, children of shinobi _became_ shinobi, even if their parents never really got anywhere. It was what was done.

Tsunami, however, didn't seem to understand that, and smiled down at her. "Is that the only reason, then? Did you have to be?" Her question was tinged with a bit of concern, but Sakura… was more contemplative.

No, she didn't have to be. If she had truly not wanted to become a kunoichi, her parents would've let her do whatever her heart desired. Becoming a teacher, a writer, a hairdresser… they would've just been happy for their little girl. She knew she was loved – her parents had always wanted a big family, but there were complications in her Mom's pregnancy with Sakura, so she was the only child, the cherished child – and she knew they would support her.

So, no, it hadn't been expected of her.

Sakura's immediate answer was because of Sasuke-kun – but that wasn't true, either. Sasuke-kun came after she began attending the Academy, after Ino-pig happened. What happened first, then?

"Sakura-chan?" Tsunami's concerned question broke Sakura out of her remembering, and the girl had to forcibly stop herself from shaking her head and yanking on the braid.

"Sorry, Tsunami-san, I was trying to remember." And remember she did, biting her lip. "I… When I was very little, I met Hokage-sama. My Mom had been on a mission, and my Dad was taking us up to go see her. The mission wasn't confidential, so we were let into the debriefing." She had never told anyone this – not because it was a secret, but because no one asked, and she didn't think about it much.

"Hokage-sama likes kids, I think. He took me in my arms and he talked to me, like I was a real person and not just a little kid. He… told me I was the most important person in the village." Sakura let out a small, slightly breathless laugh. "I was so confused! I was just Sakura, you know?" Especially back then, when she could barely talk to anyone. "Hokage-sama thanked me for letting my Mom help protect the village, protect important people like me and my Dad. Then, he handed me back and we left."

It was a longer story than Tsunami-san had maybe anticipated, but she was good-natured and kind. She tied up the end of Sakura's braid, and gave her a pat on the head. "And that's why you decided to be a shinobi?"

Sakura nodded, reaching up to feel her new hairstyle, a better hairstyle for a shinobi. "I wanted to help him, too."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Long time no see! I've had this sitting in my folders for too long, and decided to finally upload it. Dunno when the next chapter will be out - we'll see when I have time + muse. I either have muse but no time, or time but no muse, alas... Anyway, in case anyone's curious, this is officially a For Want of a Nail fanfiction. Chapter 3 was the even that changed things - Naruto and Sakura talked and decided to get stronger to protect Sasuke (whereas they didn't discuss that in canon), and thus things are changing._

 _I look forward to showing you the repercussions._

 _In the meantime, if y'all want a good Sakura fanfiction,_ _ **The Eyes Have It**_ _and its sequel_ _ **Now You See It**_ _by_ _ **Shana the Short**_ _are absolutely amazing. Basically: Sakura gets a dojutsu. No, there's no super-powered magical dojutsu! and it's honestly really, really great. Read it for the team dynamics alone. (There's also like. Absolutely no romance which is always something I prefer.) Check it out!_


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